Bearing assembly with a splined inner race

ABSTRACT

A bearing assembly includes an outer race, an inner race, a plurality of rolling elements, such as bearing balls positioned in a raceway between the outer race and the inner race. The inner race has a series of splines which extend radially inwardly of the spline, the splines increase the amount of surface area which extends radially, or normal to the inner race to contact a similarly configured shaft member. The splined inner race eliminates reduces pounding or knocking noises associated with hexagonal bearings.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional application of prior application ofSer. No. 08/345,222, filed Nov. 28, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,944,which is a continuation of prior application Ser. No. 08/049,831, filedApr. 19, 1993, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to anti-friction bearings and assembliestherefor, and more particularly to bearings which operate underconditions characterized by extreme performance demands such as highradial loads and long lifetime requirements.

Anti-friction bearings are often used in a variety of applications inwhich the bearing assemblies experience high external loads duringoperation. Externally applied loads generate contact stress between theraceways and the loaded rolling elements. Excessive radial loads onbearings are detrimental to bearing life. In some applications, bearingassembly misalignment can develop under certain loading conditions.Unwanted operational noises can be experienced, particularly duringthese types of high loading conditions.

One such application during which high loads are developed is onagricultural equipment. Agricultural equipment must effectively processa high volume of agricultural product in short times during harvestsunder conditions characterized by a high concentration of particulatematter, such as dirt, dust, moisture and plant particles. Exemplary ofagricultural equipment in this regard are hay balers. One type of haybaler, a round baler, has a baling chamber defined by a number ofsidewalls and has a series of rotating endless belts which roll andcompact hay and forage material together into a large, round bale. Therollers extend between the baler sidewalls and drive the endless belts.The rollers are typically chain or belt driven. Each roller may bemounted in the baling chamber with one or more bearings located atopposite ends of the roller. Some current hay balers utilize bearingswith hex-shaped inner races which engage complimentarily-shapedhexagonal shafts extending out from the ends of the rollers. Thesebearings have been known to exhibit a loud and annoying "pounding" or"knocking" noise during operation of hay balers. This pounding orknocking is believed to be caused by the constant loading and unloadingof the baler rollers during the forming of hay bales within the balingchamber. As the density of the bale grows, it exerts forces on thesidewalls of the baler which can cause the bearings to becomemisaligned. It is believed that the knocking or pounding noise occurswhen the bearings are misaligned.

In hay baler applications and particularly round hay baler applications,it is also desirable to allow a certain amount of axial movement betweenthe shaft and inner race of the bearing assemblies to reduce oreliminate the axial or thrust loads borne by the bearing assembly and toallow for easier assembly. Accordingly, in attempting to solve problemssuch as undesirable noise development and in seeking ways to betterhandle high bearing loads, one must also allow for and take into accountthis axial movement when working on these types of devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed first to a unique bearing, and secondto a unique bearing assembly having a bearing component and a shaftcomponent. The bearing and bearing assembly of the present inventionovercome the above-mentioned disadvantages and provide beneficialoperational results.

The present invention resides in the inner race of the bearing having aplurality of radial inwardly extending splines. The inner race engages ashaft member which has a similar number of external, radially extendingsplines on an engagement portion thereof. The bearing inner race andshaft member splines are separated by a series of intervening channels,such that each spline has a top land portion and two opposing faceportions defined thereon. Preferably, the splines nave an involuteconfiguration.

The splined inner race of the bearing is believed to result in a moreeffective transmission of torque to the bearing because the splinesprovide a greater number of contact points on the bearing, as comparedto conventional hex-shaped bearings. Thus, the force at each contactpoint is reduced.

This splined bearing inner race structure also has been found tobeneficially eliminate the bearing knocking or pounding noise observedin equipment incorporating conventional bearings having hex-shaped innerraces. Additionally, the splined bearing structure exhibits advantageousself-centering characteristics. Splined bearing structures also furtheradvantageously permit limited axial movement between the shaft and thebearing to reduce thrust loads while still resisting high radial loads.

Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to providea new and improved bearing assembly.

A further object of the present invention to provide an improved bearingwhich has particular utility in the area of agricultural machinery andwhich reduces bearing knocking or pounding.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a bearing assemblyfor a round hay baler which reduces bearing pounding or knocking noisewherein the bearing has a splined inner race member which engages asimilarly configured shaft member.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a bearing assemblyhaving improved centering characteristics of the shaft within the innerrace.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a bearingwhich is especially suitable for high radial load applications.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a splinedbearing assembly secured to an agricultural machine, wherein the splinesreduce the loadings at each interface between the shaft and inner raceof the bearing assembly to provide especially advantageous centeringcharacteristics of the shaft within the inner race.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedbearing for use in agricultural machines, the bearing having splinespermitting a limited amount of axial movement between the bearing and ashaft inserted into the bearing opening.

Other objects and advantages, and the manner of their attainment willbecome more clearly apparent from the following detailed description ofthe preferred embodiment of the invention, and by reference to thedrawings, in which like reference numerals indicate corresponding partsthroughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a hexagonal bearing assemblyrepresentative of the prior art;

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of the bearing of FIG. 1 in partialsection;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the bearing assemblyconstructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view, partially in section, of the bearing ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the shaft member of the bearing assemblyillustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 3A is cross-sectional view of the bearing shaft illustrated in FIG.3, taken along lines 3A--3A;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the inner race of the bearing component of thebearing assembly illustrated in FIG. 2 with the ball bearings shown inphantom;

FIG. 4A is a sectional view of the inner race illustrated in FIG. 4taken along lines 4A--4A;

FIG. 4B is an enlarged view of a portion of the inner race of FIG. 4;

FIG. 5 is a cutaway schematic view of a round hay baler utilizing thebearing assembly of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5A is an enlarged view of a rear portion of the exterior of the haybaler of FIG. 5;

FIG. 5B is an exploded perspective view of a roller and associatedbearing of the baler of FIG. 5;

FIG. 5C is a sectional view of the roller and bearing of FIG. 5B shownin an engaged position;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view, partially broken away, of an alternateembodiment of a bearing constructed in accordance with the principles ofthe present invention;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of another embodiment of a bearing accordingto the present invention; and,

FIG. 8 is yet another embodiment of a bearing according to the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 and 1A illustrate a conventional anti-friction bearing assembly8 having a bearing component 10 and a shaft component 11, which assemblyis exemplary of prior art bearing assemblies. Bearing component 10includes four parts typically associated with an anti-friction bearing,namely an inner race or ring member 12, an outer race or ring member 14,a plurality of rolling members, such as balls 16, and a cage orseparator 18. The inner and outer race member each includes a respectivesemicircular groove 12A and 14A which defines a raceway 20 which, whenthe bearing 10 is assembled, extends between the inner and outer racemembers 12 and 14 for the entire appropriate circumferential portionthereof. The balls 16 and cage 18 are located in this raceway 20. Theradius of the grooves 12A, 14A may be typically slightly larger than theradius of the balls 16 such that a slight amount of radial clearanceexists. The bearing 10 is thus permitted to adjust itself to smallamounts of angular misalignment in the bearing assembly. Bearingassembly 10 may also include one or more seals or shields 22 whichenclose and protect the bearing raceway 20.

The bearing assembly 10 may be press-fit into an outer housing (notshown) which locates the bearing in its proper position. As shown bestin FIG. 1, the bearing inner race member 12 has a hexagonal shaftopening 24. This hex shaft opening 24 receives a complementarilyconfigured hex-shaped end portion 26 of the shaft component 11 whichensures that the bearing inner race member 12 rotates with the shaft 26.In such a construction, the shaft end 26 is typically slip fit into theinner race hex opening 24. The hex inner race opening 24 has sixengagement surfaces 30A-F which contact opposing shaft member engagementsurfaces 32A-F. When a torque is applied to the shaft component 11, thecontact between these two engagement surfaces 30 and 32 results inrotation of the inner race 12 within the bearing 10. As seen in FIG. 1B,the inner race engagement surfaces 30A-F of the conventional hex bearing10 are oriented more tangential than normal to a base circle linescribed in the hex opening 24.

FIGS. 2 and 2A illustrate a bearing assembly 100 constructed inaccordance with the principles of the present invention. The bearingassembly 100 shown includes a bearing component 110 and a shaftcomponent 150. The bearing component 110 has an inner race or ringmember 112, an outer race or ring member 114 and a plurality of rollingelements, such as balls 116 separated by a cage or separator 118. (FIG.2A.) The balls 116 are disposed between two semicircular grooves 112A,114A positioned in the opposing surfaces of the respective inner raceand outer race members 112, 114, which together define a raceway 120 forthe rolling elements 116. The bearing component 110 may include anappropriate means for sealing the raceway 120 such as a seal member 122.

As shown in the embodiment of FIG. 6, the bearing may also use rollers117 as its rolling elements. Similar to balls 116, the rollers aredisposed in the raceway 120 between the inner race 112 and the outerrace 114. The rollers 117 may be cylindrical rollers as shown or theymay include conventional spherical rollers.

In an important aspect of the present invention, the bearing inner race112 has a shaft opening 123 which has a splined configuration or profile124 which includes a plurality of radially extending shaft engagementmembers 126. The engagement members are illustrated as splines 127 andare separated from each other by intervening channels 128. In theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, twenty-two of such splines 127 areshown and a similar number (twenty-two) of intervening channels 128 areillustrated. The splines 127 extend radially inwardly of the inner race112 for a predetermined extent and also extend longitudinally for apredetermined distance L of the inner race member 112. Each spline 127includes a top land portion 130 located at the outermost radial extentof the spline 127. The spline 127 has two face portions 132A, 132Blocated on opposite sides of the top land 130. The face portions ofadjoining splines 127 of the inner race 112 define the interveningchannels 128 of the inner race 112.

The splines 127 may have generally the same length as their associatedintervening channels 128, or as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 7 thelength may be variable. For example, the bearing 210 in FIG. 7 has aninner race member 212 with channels 228 longer than splines 227.

Inner race 112 may be formed from a block of suitable material, such assteel, and the splines 127 of the inner race member 112 may be integralwith the inner race member 112 as shown in FIGS. 2-2A. However, asillustrated in the embodiment of FIG. 8, the splines may also be formedon a separate circular spline member 311 which is then attached to theinner race member 112 in a manner which prohibits relative rotationbetween the inner race member 312 and the spline member 311, such as bya key 315 or press fit.

With particular reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 3A, the shaft component 150has an end portion 152 which has a series of external, radiallyoutwardly extending splines 154 equal in number to those present on theinner race 112 of the bearing component 110. The shaft component 150 mayhave an axial cavity 151 positioned in its center which may receive aprojecting stud or similar member on a mounting surface (not shown).Splines 154 extend for a predetermined distance along the end portion152 of the shaft 150 and are separated by intervening channels 156. Theshaft component splines 154 include top land portions 158 at theiroutermost radial extent and have two face portions 160A, 160B onopposing sides thereof. The shaft component end portion 152 typicallyfurther includes suitable means for limiting axial movement of the shaftcomponent 150 in the bearing component inner race opening 123.Illustrative in this regard is a circumferential groove 162 whichreceives a stop member, such as a snap ring 164, to provide a stopsurface which prevents axial movement of the shaft into the inner raceopening 123 for a distance greater than the distance from the end of theshaft 150 to the innermost surface 166 of the stop member 164. Theopposite end 151 of the shaft component 150 may be configured to permitits attachment to a rotatable member (not shown) such as by welding.

In another important aspect of the present invention, the splines 127are formed on the inner race 112 in an arcuate manner, and preferably asinvolute splines. The involute characteristic of the splines 127 isshown best in FIG. 4B, which is an enlarged view of a portion of theinner race member 112. Similarly, the splines 154 of the shaft memberare also preferably formed as involutes which are complementary inconfiguration to the involute splines 127 of the inner race 112. Withfurther reference to FIG. 4B, the faces 132A, 132B of the inner racesplines 127 are generally parallel to corresponding faces of theexternal splines 154 of the shaft component 150. It has been found thata pressure angle of approximately 30° used in forming the splines 127,154 and a pitch of 16/32 gives particularly desirable results.

The spline face portions of the inner race 112 preferably provide thebearing inner race 112 with multiple torque-transmission surfaces orcontact points which are oriented more normally than tangentially ascompared with the hex-shaped bearing assembly 8 of FIGS. 1 and 1A. Inthis regard, the splines 127 may also take other similar configurationssuch as square splines. Because there are more contact points in thesplined bearing, the loads on each contact point are reduced as comparedto the hex-shaped bearing assembly described above. Thus, the bearingassembly 100 of the invention functions reliably under high radialloading of the bearing component 110. Because of the splined nature ofthe bearing inner race 112 and the shaft end portion 152, axial movementis also permitted between the two components, thereby reducing anythrust loading on the bearing component 110 by the shaft component 150.

The bearing assembly 100 of the present invention has proven to beuseful in agricultural machinery and particularly in the operation ofhay balers such as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 5A. It will be understoodthat the present invention is not limited to the specific illustratedbaler. Also, the bearing assembly 100 of the present invention issuitable for use on other types of agricultural equipment or machinerywith rotating members.

A round hay baler, generally designated 500 in FIG. 5, has a balingchamber 502 into which the hay is gathered and formed into a round bale.Baling chamber 502 is generally defined by baler sidewalls 506. The hayis propelled into the baling chamber 502 by a suitable pick-up assembly,including, for example rotating feeder arms 508 positioned generally ata front opening 510. Bale forming proceeds in a generally known mannerwithin a bale forming chamber which may be either fixed or variable.Typical fixed chamber balers include either a series of rollers (notshown) or a series of endless, rotatable belts 512 positioned aroundrollers mounted along the periphery of the baling chamber 502 andextending between the baler sidewalls 506. Once formed, the bale exitsthrough a tailgate 515 hinged to the baling chamber 502.

The bale forming belts typically are driven by a series of rollers 516which are driven by a conventional drive assembly which may include, forexample, a chain drive 518. (FIG. 5A.) The rollers 516 are mounted to orthrough the baler sidewalls 506. This mounting includes a bearing andmay be accomplished in a variety of ways. As shown in FIG. 5B, a housingmember 530 is attached to the baler sidewall 506, by any suitable meanssuch as multiple bolts 531 or by welding.

Housing 530 contains a bearing component 532 having an outer race member534 with a spherical outer surface 535, an inner race member 536 and aplurality of rolling elements (not shown) positioned therebetween in araceway (also not shown). Similar to the outer race member 534, thecavity 537 is preferably spherical in nature (FIG. 5C) and thus permitssome relative movement between the outer race member 534 and housing 530to permit installation of the bearing component 532 into the housing 530as well as alignment of the outer race 534 during operation of thebaler.

The bearing component 532 may also be mounted in a conventional mannerwhich permits rotation of the outer race member 534 relative to theinner race member 536, such as by attaching the roller shaft to thebaler sidewall 506. Or, it may be mounted as shown in FIG. 5C where thebearing housing 530 is affixed to the baler sidewall 506 such that theinner race member 536 will rotate relative to the outer race member 534.The inner race member 536 has a plurality of radially inwardly extendingsplines 538 having the preferred profiles described above.

A typical baler roller 516 is formed as an elongated cylinder 540 havinga recess 542 (FIG. 5C) defined at opposite ends thereof. A mountingplate 544 provides a point of attachment for the roller shaft 150, suchas by welding.

It has been found through testing that a bearing shaft combination whichuses the splined inner race of the present invention eliminates theannoying "knocking" noise which occurs with bearings having a hexagonalinner race as described above and shown in FIGS. 1-1A. Comparative testswere conducted between conventional hex-shaped bearings similar to thatdepicted in FIGS. 1-1A and splined bearings constructed in accordancewith the present invention similar to that depicted in FIG. 2. Testingwas done both in a laboratory and in the field.

In laboratory testing, the hex-shaped bearing was installed in atailgate portion of a White-New Idea Model 484 round baler. Thistailgate portion included two drive rollers and two idler rollers. Apipe was attached to an adjustment bracket located on one of thesidewalls of the tailgate portion to act as a lever arm which enabled amisaligning force to be applied to the baler sidewall, bearing housingand bearing. Drive was applied to the rollers. While the rollers werebrought up to speed (approximately 300 rpm), the hex-shaped bearingexhibited a loud pounding or knocking noise while the bearing sought toalign itself. When the bearing aligned itself, the pounding or knockingnoise stopped. A force was then applied to the pipe to simulate theforces exerted on the baler sidewall and roller and the pounding orknocking began again and continued while the force was applied. It isbelieved that this force caused the bearing outer race to move slightlyin the bearing housing such that the bearing was out of alignment.

In contrast, a splined bearing was installed on the same test equipment.Drive was again applied to the rollers (approximately 300 rpm). Thesplined bearing did not exhibit any pounding or knocking while therollers were brought up to speed. A similar misalignment force wasapplied to the pipe as was applied during the hex bearing test and nopounding or knocking noise was heard. Similar results were observed infield testing, that is, the hex bearing exhibited pounding or knockingnoises during bale-forming. The splined bearing did not.

Accordingly, the use of splined bearings, and particularly with respectto a round hay baler, substantially eliminates the pounding or knockingnoise associated with and encountered during use of conventionalhex-shaped bearings.

It will thus be seen that the present invention provides a bearingassembly having a number of advantages and characteristics, includingthose herein indicated and others which are inherent in the invention.Since modifications and variations of the illustrated construction willbe apparent to those skilled in the art, it is anticipated that suchmodifications and changes may be made without departing from the spiritof the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. In an anti-friction bearing with improvedknocking reduction characteristics for use on a shaft member, thebearing having an inner race member which is received on the shaftmember, an outer race member, the inner and outer race members defininga raceway therebetween, and a plurality of rolling elements disposedwithin the raceway, the rolling elements allowing relative movementbetween said inner and outer race members, and the inner race memberhaving a shaft engagement portion, the improvement comprising: the innerrace member shaft engagement portion having a plurality of splinesformed thereon and extending radially inwardly from said bearing innerrace member, each of the splines being separated by a plurality ofintervening channels, each of said splines including a land portion andtwo face portions, the spline face portions providing said inner racemember with a plurality of shaft engagement surfaces in a radiallyinwardly direction which slidingly engage a series of opposing splinesformed on the said shaft member, said bearing inner race member and saidsplined shaft member slidingly engaging each other in a manner so as topermit limited axial movement between said inner race member and saidshaft member, yet still permit driving engagement between said innerrace member and said shaft member, said bearing inner race member, saidsplined shaft member and said sliding engagement therebetweencooperating to reduce knocking noises of said bearing during operationof said shaft.
 2. The bearing of claim 1, further including a bearinghousing which engages said outer race member.
 3. The bearing of claim 2,wherein said outer race member rotates relative to said inner racemember.
 4. The bearing of claim 1, further including means forseparating said plurality of rolling elements within said raceway. 5.The bearing of claim 1, wherein said rolling elements include ballelements.
 6. The bearing of claim 1, wherein said rolling elementsinclude roller elements.
 7. The bearing of claim 1, wherein each of saidinner race member splines have curved engagement surfaces.
 8. Thebearing of claim 1, wherein each of said splines are involute splines.9. The bearing of claim 1, wherein said splined shaft member includes adistinct bearing engagement portion having a plurality of externalsplines extending radially outwardly from said shaft member, each of theshaft member splines of said splined shaft member bearing engagementportion having a land portion separated by two radially outwardlyextending face portions, each of said shaft member splines further beingseparated from and spaced apart from each other by a series of externalchannels disposed in said shaft member engagement surface, said shaftmember external splines being received within said bearing inner racemember channels and said shaft member external channels receiving saidbearing inner race member splines such that at least said bearing innerrace member spline face portions and shaft member spline face portionsslidingly engage each other when said bearing inner race member isplaced upon said splined shaft member so as to permit said limited axialmovement between said splined shaft member and said bearing.
 10. Thebearing of claim 9, wherein said shaft member further includes means tolimit axial movement between said shaft member and said bearing.
 11. Thebearing of claim 10, wherein said axial movement limiting means includesa ring member disposed in a circumferential groove angularly disposedfrom said shaft member external splines.
 12. The bearing of claim 1,wherein said splines are involute splines and said splines and saidbearing inner race member are integrally formed.
 13. The bearing ofclaim 1, wherein said splines extend substantially the entire length ofsaid inner race member.
 14. The bearing of claim 1, wherein saidchannels extend substantially the entire length of said inner racemember.
 15. The bearing of claim 1, wherein said inner race memberincludes a solid body portion without any non-shaft member-receivingopenings formed therein.
 16. An anti-friction bearing comprising: aninner race member, an outer race member concentrically disposed relativeto the inner race member, said inner race member having a solid bodywith a groove disposed in an outer circumferential surface thereof, theouter race member also having a solid body with a groove disposed in aninner circumferential surface thereof, the inner race member groove andthe outer race member groove cooperating to define a bearing racewaybetween said inner and outer race members, a plurality of rollingelements disposed in said raceway which permit relative movement betweensaid inner and outer race members, said inner race member furtherincluding a circumferential inner engagement surface for engagement witha shaft member, the inner race engagement surface having a plurality ofsplines disposed therein, the splines extending radially inwardly ofsaid inner race member, said splines being separated by a plurality ofchannels, each of said splines being an involute spline, said inner andouter race member splines slidingly engaging each other so as to permitlimited axial movement between said inner race member and said shaftmember, said inner race and shaft member splines and sliding engagementtherebetween substantially reducing knocking noises from occurringduring operation of said bearing.
 17. An anti-friction bearing assemblycomprising a bearing component and a shaft component, the bearingcomponent including an inner race member, an outer race memberconcentrically disposed relative to the inner race member, said innerrace member having a groove disposed in an outer circumferential surfacethereof, the outer race member also having a groove disposed in an innercircumferential surface thereof, the inner race member groove and theouter race member groove defining a bearing raceway between said innerand outer race member, a plurality of rolling elements disposed in saidraceway which permit relative movement between said inner and outer racemembers, said inner race member further including a circumferentialinner engagement surface for engagement with the shaft componentdefining a shaft opening of said inner race member, the inner raceengagement surface having a plurality of involute splines disposedthereon, the inner race splines extending radially inwardly of saidinner race member, said inner race splines being separated by aplurality of intervening channels, each of said splines further havingat least one engagement face thereon, said shaft component having anexternal circumferential engagement surface opposing said bearing innerrace member engagement surface and engaging said inner race memberengagement surface, said shaft component external engagement surfacehaving a plurality of involute splines disposed thereon and extendingradially outwardly and separated by a plurality of intervening channels,said shaft component external engagement surface being received withsaid shaft opening of said bearing component inner race member such thatsaid shaft component involute splines are received within said innerrace member intervening channels and said inner race member involutesplines are received with said shaft member intervening grooves in ageneral sliding engagement which permits limited axial movement duringoperation of said bearing assembly, and, said bearing component innerrace member splines, said shaft component splines and said slidingengagement therebetween cooperating to provide means for substantiallyreducing knocking noises of said bearing assembly during operation inassociation with said shaft.
 18. The bearing assembly of claim 17,wherein said shaft includes means for limiting said sliding engagementbetween said bearing component and said shaft component.
 19. The bearingassembly of claim 18, wherein said sliding engagement limiting meansincludes a stop member in the form of a stop ring extending radiallyoutwardly from said shaft member.
 20. The bearing assembly of claim 17,further including a housing member which houses said bearing componentand which permits attachment of said bearing component to a mountingsurface, said inner race member of said bearing assembly beingstationary relative to said outer race member.
 21. The bearing assemblyof claim 17, wherein said inner race member involute splines are formedwith a pressure angle of approximately 30°.
 22. The bearing assembly ofclaim 21, wherein said outer race member rotates relative to said innerrace member.
 23. The bearing assembly of claim 17, wherein said innerrace member includes a solid body without any non-shaft member-receivingopenings extending therethrough.
 24. A bearing assembly whichsubstantially reduces knocking noises associated with the bearingassembly during operation thereof, the bearing assembly comprising anouter race member, an inner race member, a shaft member received withinan opening of the inner race member, each of the inner and outer racemembers having an interior raceway disposed on opposing forces thereof,a plurality of rolling elements disposed in said disposed racewaysbetween the inner and outer race members which permit relative movementbetween same, at least said inner race member having a solid bodyportion without any non-shaft member receiving openings formed therein,said inner race member further including a plurality of radial splinesformed thereon separated by intervening grooves, said shaft memberhaving a plurality of radial splines formed on an end portion thereofand being separated by intervening grooves, said shaft member endportion being received with said inner race member such that said shaftmember splines and intervening grooves slidingly engage respectiveopposing inner race member grooves and splines, said inner race membersplines, said shaft member splines and said sliding engagementtherebetween providing means for substantially reducing knocking noisesassociated with said bearing during rotation of said shaft or bearinginner race member.